Contador and Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha) ranked around two minutes. Evans and Hesjedal could begin to forget about a podium place.

“On the Col de Pailhères, I was already having a bit of a hard time and [that] put me a bit on my limit which is always a cause for concern,” Evans continued.

“On the last climb, I had a few physical problems… I couldn’t even push myself to my maximum. And at that point when you see 20 guys riding away from you know it’s a long way off the pace.”

Americans Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) and Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) hoped for a better day helping their team leaders.

Van Garderen placed fifth overall last year, ahead of Evans.

“It was on the first climb. The heat really started getting to me, which was strange, because I’ve done a lot to prepare for the heat, with the sauna,” van Garderen told the media.

“I just didn’t have the power. I got a little bit of chills. I wasn’t massively dehydrated. I felt like my normal self, minus 30 per cent. You cannot miss that 30 per cent at the Tour.”

Talansky saw it coming.

“It was always going to happen. They have the best rider in the race, and they wanted to show it,” Talansky said at the Garmin team car.

“They make it as hard as possible on the first climb. Richie takes over, and they blow it to pieces… You know it’s going to happen. You know it’s coming. Unless you’re having a very special day, you know you’re going to explode.”

Froome’s gains could stick, or even grow. He is favoured for the time trial on Wednesday and set to do the same on Mont Ventoux next weekend. The Tour has just begun, but for many it feels finished.

Froome’s performance was truly ‘extra-terrestrial’. Science in Sport have it right, “It was fast, very fast. The 23:14 ascent of Ax-3-Domaines puts Froome in third on the all-time list for the climb, behind only Laiseka and Armstrong in 2001. The VAM of 1715 m/h converts to a power output of 6.3 W/kg (Ferrari method) and about 6.5 W/kg with other models (CPL, rst). Very fast.” “… with the exception of Froome and perhaps Porte, the rest of the peloton performed in a manner that is typical of cycling over the last few years. Their performances were consistent with post-biological passport levels, and matched or even fell short of the prediction models. It was only Froome and Sky who exceeded them. Therefore, skepticism is normal, and failing to appreciate that will come only from extreme naivety or patriotism. History has taught us the value of some healthy cynicism, and if this level continues for three weeks, it makes for an uncomfortable Tour, of that there is no doubt.”